TRENTON — The destructive actions of the city’s Police Director and two senior officers caused the untimely death of a Trenton man, according to a civil lawsuit filed on Friday.

Kiaya Williams, mother of Orenthia “Pookie” Upshur Jr., filed the suit nearly two years to the day that her 20-year-old son slammed the car he was driving head on into a utility pole, following a high speed pursuit by two Trenton police officers.

The victim’s mother claims she has not received a shred of information, evidence or insight into why her son was being chased — at speeds in excess of 100 mph — by police officers, two years after the crash. The attorney who represents Williams hopes filing a civil suit will force authorities to share documents regarding the investigation.

“I’ve visited the Trenton Police Department, I’ve attempted to speak to Director Rivera I also visted the Internal Affairs department and at the time they told me there was no new evidence,” said Williams regarding all the resources she has exhausted to find out the circumstances surrounding her son’s death.

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The victim’s mother has been left uninformed or grossly underinformed by the authorities and according to her, she wasn’t even informed of the accident nor of Upshur’s death by the police.

“A family member saw it on Facebook and told me at 5 pm on May 3rd...I went to work the entire day and I was not informed that my son was deseased until I went to the police station and asked,” said Williams.

Upshur’s body was moved to the morge by the time his mother made it to the Trenton Police Station, nearly 15 hours after he had died.

“This is the longest vehicle fatality investigation ever done,” said the lawyer for the plaintiff, Patrick Whalen. “I have been sending letters and reaching out to Director Rivera for two years and have not heard back from him nor have we gotten any information about the investigation, at all.”

The agencies are in violation of the Attorney General’s guidelines to release information regarding an internal investigation to the victim’s family, according to Whalen.

Detective Jason Astbury and Officer Wilfredo Delgado started the high speed chase of the silver Hyundai Accent that Upshur was driving during the early morning hours on May 3, 2012. According to court documents, the car was registered to a Mercer County Sheriff’s Officer Lisa M. Bonifazi.

“We don’t even know what her connection is with Upshur,” said Whalen. “But she was at the funeral.”

It is unclear why the chase began or even where it began, however the lawsuit specifies that Officer Astbury had “already had it out” with Upshur prior to the chase and crash. The court documents state that in an attempt to unlawfully stop, seize or arrest Upshur, the officers began to pursue at a dangerously high speed and in a negligent, reckless, and unsafe manner.

The pursuit ended when Upshur struck a telephone pole head on at the intersection of South Clinton Avenue and Dye Street, mangling the vehicle beyond recognition and causing severe fatal injuries to the victim.

A week after the crash, The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Officer released a statement that introduced a joint investigation with the Trenton Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit regarding the circumstances of the fatal crash.

Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. stated, “The public can be assured that an efficient, thorough and professional examination is being conducted to determine the precise circumstances surrounding the fatality and the ensuing investigation.”

A toxicology report, given to the media by the attorneys representing Detective Astbury just weeks after the fatal accident, revealed that Upshur had oxycodone, valium, and marijuana in his system when he died.

“Isn’t it interesting that the lawyer for the defending officer was able to get a copy of the toxicology report and leak it to the media but the mother of the victim is not able to get any reports regarding the death of her son?” said Whalen.

“The incident was investigated by our Internal Affairs Unit, in conjunction with the Internal Affairs Department of the Trenton Police Department,” said Casey DeBlasio spokesperson for the Mercer County Prosecutor’s office. “Our office determined that criminal prosecution in the incident was not warranted and we referred it to TPD so that the investigation could continue at an administrative level within the department.”

The six-count complaint accuses the director and the officers of several mistakes and of not being forthcoming with the results of the investigation, including gross negligence, lack of training, and unconstitutional policies and practices.

When asked, Director Rivera did acknowledge a continuing internal investigation, which was passed back to the department from the Prosecutor’s office over a year ago. “The prosecutor’s office investigated (the case,) and I don’t know the details regarding it,” said Rivera. “They sent it back to our internal affairs and since then we have been investigating administratively to see if officers were in violation of any policy.”

The administrative hearing for both the officers has been pushed back several times over the year delaying the investigation further, according to Rivera. “It is the defense attorneys who keep on asking for more time and who have been pushing the internal hearing back,” Rivera confirmed.

About the Author

After being laid off from American Express, Sherrina went back to school and got a masters from C.U.N.Y. She isn't scared to ask tough questions and enjoys getting the story behind the story. Reach the author at Snavani@trentonian.com
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